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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Al Kowsky, post: 4512299, member: 97383&quot;]Last Friday I spotted an interesting solidus of Phocas, in <b>Great Collections</b> weekly listing, see photo below. The coin was &quot;high grade&quot; and had an unusual attribution of <b>Ravenna/Thessalonica (?)</b> <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie12" alt="o_O" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. To complicate matters <b>G.C.</b> listed the coin from the <b>Constantinople Mint</b>, and listed the weight as <b>4.52 gm</b> <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie12" alt="o_O" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />? I thought to myself that they must have confused this coin with another solidus in the auction, but there was no other solidus in the auction <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie5" alt=":confused:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. Someone had bid $300 for the coin, and after doing some research I determined that if the coin was from the Thessalonica mint it was <b>RARE</b>. I promptly bid $600 for the coin <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. By Saturday the bidding reached $650, so I decided to do some more research. I pulled out a book I rarely look at, <b>Roman Gold Coins of the Medieval World, 383 - 1453 A.D., by HARLAN J. BERK</b>, copyright 1986. Low and behold, there was the exact coin pictured in Berk&#039;s book, #109 <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie57" alt=":jawdrop:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />! The coin wasn&#039;t slabbed in the photo, but no doubt, it was the same coin, even the weight matched the slab info. My heart started racing <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie11" alt=":rolleyes:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. Now I had to have that coin <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie85" alt=":smuggrin:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />! I bid $750 for the coin. By Sunday morning the bidding reached $850. Determined to get that coin I bid $1,400 for it <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie81" alt=":shifty:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />! Who would be crazy enough to outbid me <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie7" alt=":p" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />? Five minutes before the auction closed I checked the listing once more, now the coin was at $1,500 <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie4" alt=":mad:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. I bid once more at $1550, confident the coin was mine <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie84" alt=":smug:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />. Two snipers jumped in with 20 seconds to go and the coin went for $2,982.95, with buyers fee <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie79" alt=":rage:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />! Ambushed again <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie3" alt=":(" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1118135[/ATTACH]&nbsp; [ATTACH=full]1118136[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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